Milford: Inspiration to follow God’s call to become a priest can come from many places.

For Father Shinoj Jose, a new priest from India to the Diocese of Sioux City in United States, it was a priest from the same diocese who greatly impacted him.

“It is because of Father Tom that I am a priest now,” said Father Shinoj. “Father has known me since I was in the first year of seminary studies and he used to encourage me to go ahead with the priesthood.”

Father Tom Flanagan, pastor at St. Joseph Parish in Milford, had served for several years as the rector of Opus Spiritus Santi (the Holy Spirit Community.) That meant that he traveled a great deal, visiting community members in India, Africa and the Philippines.

“I come from a very poor family and I used to have a lot of financial difficulties,” explained Father Shinoj, who noted he was just six years old when his father died.

His mother worked on a convent farm for daily wages to raise him and his two siblings.

“I always thought of leaving seminary studies to go and help my mother back at home,” Father Shinoj said. “I used to write Father Tom and he would tell me not to worry about those things, just go ahead with my studies and the Lord will take care of the rest.”

Not only did Father Tom encourage him to follow the call that God had placed in his heart, but Father Shinoj’s mother did so as well.

“It is with the support of Father Tom, the prayers of my mother and the grace of God that I am a priest now,” he said.

Father Shinoj, who is from the state of Kerala in southern India, was ordained on May 12, 2010. After ordination, the priest of Opus Spiritus Sancti (OSS) worked as an assistant parish priest and also was appointed to train young seminarians. He then worked as a pastor in a small mission parish with two substations.

The young priest explained that through the years Father Tom has not only been a mentor, but has been a father figure to him. With the support of Bishop Walker Nickless, Father Tom invited Father Shinoj to come to the Diocese of Sioux City in Iowa state.

The invitation to serve in this diocese came as great news to Father Shinoj because of his strong connection with Father Tom.

“When I shared with my family that I would be with Father Tom, they were all so happy and without any hesitation,” said Father Shinoj, who arrived in Iowa in early July.

Because he is working with Father Tom, it helps Father Shinoj be away from his family. The priest’s sister is married with two children and he has a younger brother who is a university student.

“Another thing is that the people here are so loving, especially the people in Milford. They are just like family,” he said. “I am quite sure it is the work of God that I am here.”

He will serve as parochial vicar at St. Joseph Church in Milford, assisting with various ministries, presiding at Masses, visiting the sick and helping with religious education.

A few years from now, if all is going well for him in the diocesan ministry, Father Shinoj would like to seek to be officially incardinated into the Diocese of Sioux City. For the meantime, he has a religious worker’s visa that is valid for 30 months. It can be renewed for another 30 months or during this time he can apply for a green card – permanent residency.

Fluid in English, Father Shinoj noted it was in the seminary where he studied and learned English.

Because he already feels so much at home in the diocese, Father Shinoj acknowledged it was hard for him to identify any major challenges of being in a new country although he wonders about “the cold weather.”

(This first appeared in catholicglobe.org on August 5, 2015)